Plan B: George
by Aaronna
Summary: AU: Fem!Merlin, [Merlin/George] George understands why Merlin acts the way she does, so when Arthur asked him to teach Merlin how to polish, he accepted. George decides to let Merlin recover from her wounds that Arthur seemed to have forgotten about. Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin
1. Reveal

"Two whole days in the tavern." Arthur states in a stern tone.

'Oh great,' Merlin thought, 'Gaius used the tavern excuse again...'

"I'm not quite sure it was that long." She replied.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't get rid of you on the spot."

Knowing that Arthur had been dealing with the menace she had created, Merlin decided to play ignorant. "Because you'd have no one to polish your armour, make you breakfast, organise your clothes."

Arthur smiled at that. "Ah, well, that's where you're wrong. George!"

At the call George entered in the prim manner Merlin had informed him was the most annoying to the king.

"Merlin, meet George. George is, perhaps, the most efficient servant I've ever seen. He'll be spending the rest of the week teaching you." Arthur stated, relishing the look of shock on his maid's face.

"Teaching me?" Merlin could not believe her good luck.

"If you wish to remain in my service." Arthur replied, almost waiting for her to protest, but George stepped in and addressed Merlin.

"We will start in the armoury. Lesson one is my favourite. Polishing."

Merlin could see that Arthur was trying not to laugh, thinking that she was about to be tortured by the man who embodied the perfection all servant are meant to aim for.

"Yes, that's my favourite, too." Merlin replied in a dazed voice.

George, noting Merlin's strained posture and semi-vacant gaze, nods before jerking his head to indicate that Merlin should follow him.

Merlin followed, but stopped at the door. "Tell me something…" She asked the blonde.

Arthur put on a fake 'serious' expression as Merlin walked back to him and leaned over. "If he's so good, why don't you just give him the job?"

The mocking fell from his face and was replaced by the real thing, much to Merlin's enjoyment.

"He's seriously boring. I've never met anyone so dull. The man makes jokes about brass." The look of disgust on Arthur's face almost made Merlin giggle, but she managed to contain herself as Arthur continued. "Anyway, off you go. It'll be fun."

Arthur was enjoying this, so Merlin gave him a fake smile and nodded before walking to the door. She paused there to look back at Arthur, who gave her a smug smile and a nod. With that, Merlin exited with a grin.

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Once she was outside of the king's chamber, she dropped the 'I'm as fit as a fiddle' act. George rushed to her side as she swayed where she stood.

"What happened? You seemed fine inside, a little tired maybe, but not ready to fall over." Concern for his friend clear on George's face and in his voice.

"You know how I was hurt and then separated from Arthur and the knights? Well, that wound was never really tended. Morgana 'healed' the bone and skin, but that was it. On top of that, she put some creature's head in the back of my neck to get me to kill Arthur. During that time I don't remember anything, but Gaius and Gwen said I said some nasty things and acted odd. Finally, Gaius got rid of the thing, but not before I over used my shoulder and managed to get cuts and bruises all over. Heck! I'm not even sure I slept during that time or ate!" With that said, Merlin noticed that George had managed to get her to walk halfway to Gaius's chambers.

"What are you doing?" She asked him sharply.

George looked her dead in the eyes and replied, "You needed to recover before you go back to working for Arthur next week. I now know what all he makes you do in a day, and frankly, I don't see how you get it done without help. I had three people helping me and even then I barely got it all done. And that is not counting the patrols, hunts, and training you attend. On top of that you some how manage to help out Gaius! You are an amazing woman, Merlin, but right now, you need to heal."

With a huff, Merlin allowed him to continue leading her home. this reminded her so much of their first year in Camelot.

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Both George and Merlin arrived at Camelot at the same time and managed to bump into each other just outside of the gates. Merlin was dressed as a boy, her hair was even cut in a masculine style, but George knew that truth with a single glance. After she helped him pick up the cloths that had been knocked out of his satchel, he thanked her and called her "milady."

She was shocked that he had seen through her disguise so easily. She had been on the road for three day, and no one noticed she was a girl. Now, this guy only glanced at her before calling her out on it. She blushed and asked how he knew. He then gave a quick explanation about how his sister used to do the same thing when she was forced to travel alone, so he knew what to look for.

After that they went their own ways. Merlin went to meet Gaius, who her mother had failed to tell the was actually her uncle, while George was to start his apprenticeship at the bronze smith's shop. They saw each other all the time and George would help her when ever he could. On nights she had to work late, he would help her out and the walk her safely home. That lasted over a year, but it all changed when the bronze smith was found practicing magic.

Luckily, George was not executed for helping a practitioner of sorcery. Merlin used her position as the prince's servant to get George hired to work in the castle. After he got the job, all that help he gave her stopped as did the walks home. It wasn't that George didn't want to, if was because he had no free time anymore.

They saw very little of each other for a while until Arthur fired her. Cedric had made her look like a fool and managed to get her to do something stupid. So she got fire. After the whole thing Arthur told her she had her job back, but the damage had been done. She was going to train someone to be the perfect servant, one that would drive Arthur insane. She was going to train George, and with his help she was going to make sure Arthur missed when she was gone.

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Gaius had barely started to examine Merlin when she passed out, making George really worried. He cared deeply for her and had done so since they had first met. Back then she had been like a sister to him, but as time had passed he had fallen in love with her. Not that he was going to tell anyone that. Gaius would likely kill him, the knights would threaten him, and Arthur would either banish him or team up with Gaius to get him out of the picture.

As for Merlin, George knew that she did not love Arthur as anything more than a brother, the same goes for the knights, but he was unsure how she felt about him. he had been there for her when Will died, after Morgana was 'kidnapped', losing her father, he had helped her sneak food for Frey, And he had been there to pick her up after Lancelot had sacrificed himself. She had done the same for him when his mother died, when his sister was seriously ill, she had even nursed him when he had gotten the sweating sickness. But did she love him?

His thoughts were interrupted when Gaius called his name.

"George, could you keep an eye on her while I go talk to the king?" George nodded, his eyes never leaving her sleeping form.

"She is feverish, so keep the rags cool until I return." With that, Gaius left the smitten, but worried man and headed to talk to Arthur.

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There was a small knock on the door before it opened to reveal the court physician.

"Ah Gaius, what brings you here? If it is Merlin, she is being taught by George how to properly polish my armour." Arthur said with a cheeky smile.

"No, sire, she isn't. She is currently asleep in my chambers with a fever." The elderly man's tone was that of masked anger.

Arthur was stunned. "How did that happen? She seemed fine not but half an hour ago."

"why didn't you tell me how badly she had been injured when she went missing? If those mercenaries had been working for anyone but Morgana, Merlin would be dead right now. Magic was used to partially mend the shattered bone and close the skin, but the rest of the damage remained. Then Morgana used a creature of dark magic to take over the girl's mind. She has been a prisoner in her own body since before you found her in the bog. Gwen and I attempted for days to remove the beast's head from her neck, but it kept re-growing. For the past two days, after I found a way to put the creature to sleep, Merlin was out in search of where she was held so she could destroy the mother beast with fire. The beast had made her body forget its injuries, so Merlin felt fine until the effects wore off."

At this point Gaius stopped talking and sighed "At least it was George who was with her when that happened. That boy knows Merlin is good at hiding her pain, so he saw the signs and brought her to me just before she passed out."

Arthur knew he needed to address the Morgana issue, but his next question seemed more pressing in his mind. "Merlin and George know each other?"

At that Gaius gave an amused snort. "Sire, those two have been friend since the day they both arrived in Camelot. In fact, Merlin was the one who got him a job here in the castle. She taught him everything he knows."

"Now hang on! How could the worst servant to the seven kingdoms have taught the best? That doesn't make any sense!" Arthur vented incredulously.

"Sire, George has had three people helping him do all that you needed done, Merlin does it all herself. She works longer hours and does much more than a servant really should, all for two silvers a week. She doesn't do it for the money, she thinks of you as a brother and treats you like you are her child. They call her 'Little mother' in the lower town after they saw the two of you down there together."

Pulling himself out of his memories, Gaius redirected the line of thought. "I came here to tell you that I will be needing George's assistance in caring for Merlin. He has spent quite a bit of time in my chambers over the years, so he know where everything is. Plus, he is one of the few people capable of talking sense into the girl. By your leave sire, I will return to my patient."

Arthur was too shocked to do anything but nod, so Gaius left quickly and quietly.

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There are 10 certain things that Merlin never told George, that he knew none the less.

1\. Merlin disliked eating meat, mainly because she knew life had been taken for that meat to be available.

2\. Merlin would do anything to keep those around her safe, even ones she disliked or even hated.

3\. Merlin is wary of Agravaine, and with good reason.

4\. Merlin's favorite color is purple! Not blue or red!

5\. Merlin hated hunting because she knew what it felt like to be hunted.

6\. Merlin had been in love with Lancelot.

can control Dragons. George had seen the dragon fly away the night it 'died' and had seen it at least twice since.

8\. Merlin had had magic at an early age. He had seen her use instinctual magic like a witch making her immensely powerful, maybe even Emrys herself.

9\. Merlin had a book of magic, a carved wooden dragon, and an odd staff under her bed.

10\. Merlin was clueless to George knowing any of this.

As he sat there beside her, George couldn't help but run this list through his mind. He had been trying for years to work up the courage to admit his knowledge, but something always happened right before he could tell her. He had been going to tell her right before she passed out, so George had a new plan. He was going to place himself at Gaius's mercy and admit his knowledge. Hopefully, George thought, telling Gaius would be easier than the woman he loves.

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Gaius could tell George had something on his mind when he returned to his chambers to finds the boy polishing the life out of the jars and vials in the room. The boy was so focused on his task that Gaius stood by the door for five minutes before he was noticed.

"Good gods, Gaius! You could rival Merlin with your sneaking skills. At least her's is needed to keep her secret, what is your excuse?" George's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.

Gaius's toothy grin turned to a stern frown.

"Six years… I kept that to myself for six years and then I let it slip because I was startled…" George muttered staring at the jar in his hand.

"What is it you think you know?" Gaius asked hesitantly.

Quietly George began to chant his list and at the end of it, George looked up into Gaius's eyes and added two more. "11. I love her with all my heart. 12. She has lost too much for me to tell her and then her lose me too."

George knew he was placing his life in the physician's hands, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to care. He turned to the woman he cared for deeply and refreshed the cooling cloth, waiting for the old man's reaction.

"She loves you too. She was afraid that you, like all of the knights, thought of her as a sister." George was shocked at this.

"Sh.. She said that?" George was stunned.

"She realized how much she cared for you when you sick a few months back. She used magic to heal you. If she hadn't it is unlikely that you would have pulled through. She kissed you when your fever broke. She knew she could not lose you, so she risked her life to save yours. Though I suggest you ask the king and knights for their permission to court her before you tell her of your feeling. That is unless you want them to come after you. I would start with Leon, he is the most level headed." Gaius Smirked at the boys dumbfounded face.

"I… I think I will go do that now." George said rushing to the door.

"Now? Why?" Gaius asked in complete confusion.

Gaius had never George look so happy. "Because, when her fever breaks, I plan on returning the favor."


	2. Permission

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Chapter 2

Leon watch with amusement as George shuffled about at the edge of the training field. The young man would never cross the field during a training session, despite Merlin's reassurances that his presence would not distract the knights, and if it did, than they needed to train more. And since Merlin was not with the man, Leon figured that Merlin was in trouble with Arthur.

All of the knights had seen Merlin teach George how to do tasks perfectly, before purposely messing hers up, so Arthur would think she didn't know how to properly do it. The knights also had a running wager on the relationship between those two servants.

While most of the knight thought the two had been sleeping together for years, the round table knights knew Merlin better than that. Leon and Gwaine had their money on the couple being in love with each other, but having never told the other their feelings, Percival thought that they had a similar relationship to that of Arthur and Guinevere, and Elyan thought they were just friends. Sadly, Arthur did not even realize George's existence.

Knowing George would not be here unless he or Merlin needed help, Leon passed the training off to Sir Geraint, and headed over to the servant.

"Hello George, what brings you to the training grounds?" Leon wanted to tease the boy about Merlin not being around, but he held his tongue.

"Well, several things really. Umm, Merlin… Well…" Leon could clearly see the man saw conflicted.

"Yes? What about her?" Leon was sure to keep his voice neutral.

George seemed to give up trying to say what he wanted and handed Leon a note. Confused, Leon opened it.

"Sir Leon,

George lost his nerve if you are reading this, so I will get straight to the point.

He wants to ask the knights and Arthur's permission to court Merlin. He finally confronted his feelings for her after she collapsed earlier. She should be fine, but if you have questions, come speak to me. George wanted to let all the knights know about her health and to warn the group to come in pairs, not all at once. In fact, just tell Gwaine.

Thank you, and go easy on the boy.

~Gaius.

PS. I gave him my blessing to court her as she has feelings for him as well."

Leon looked up from the note and looked at George, feeling overwhelmed. Leon had never expected to be asked for permission for anything dealing with Merlin, but felt honored none the less. He was also shocked that Gaius was fine with it, especially after how the physician had responded to advances his ward had received over the years. But mostly, Leon was scared for Merlin's health.

They had just gotten her back after thinking her dead for nearly a week. Arthur had said she was badly injured when he and her were separated, but she had seemed fine for the last few days. Had they somehow missed her injuries?

"Sir?" George's voice brought Leon back to the matter at hand.

"How hurt is she?" Leon knew that probably the best question to ask right now.

"She has a massive bruise on her left shoulder, has a fever, and is completely exhausted. Gaius can tell you more, but that is all I know." George answered in a small voice.

Leon nodded. "Let me go fetch Gwaine and we will go see her, alright?"

Before George could respond, Leon jogged over to where the knight was sparing, and then quickly returned with a confused looking Gwaine.

As the trio rushed towards Gaius's chambers, Gwaine started asking questions.

"What is going on?"

"Merlin is sick and George here wants our permission to court her."

"So that is what you meant when you said 'we win', but how sick is she?"

"We will find out when we get there. And yes, that is what I meant. But now we have to break it to the rest of the knights and to Arthur."

"Why don't I tell the knights in groups of two, while you tell the Princess? Take Gwen with you. She can help, right?"

"Fine."

"Hey George, does Merlin know you feel about her like this?"

George just shook his head.

"How are you going to tell her?"

"If the king approves, I plan on telling her with a kiss…"

Gwaine whistled.

"Have you two kissed before?"

"Gaius said she kissed me after my fever broke when I had the sweating sickness a while back, but I don't remember it…"

"How long have you two known each other?"

"We meet the day we both arrived in Camelot."

"So you have known her longer than any of us?"

George nodded.

"Did she look different back then?"

"She was dressed like a boy and had her hair cut short at the time. In fact, when king Uther gave her the job of servant to the prince, he thought she was a boy. It took days for Gaius to explain that to him…"

"I remember that. Arthur felt ashamed for having fought her down in the lower town after he found out that she was a girl."

"Arthur fought her?!"

"Yes, and she almost won, but Gaius showed up and distracted her."

"What kind of fight was it? Do I want to know?"

"Mace. She has a scar on her back from where he got a hit in."

"Wait. He only got one hit in? What happened?"

"He lost his mace sometime during the fight, but he ended up winning by smacking her on the head and legs with a broom."

"Is that when Arthur found out she was a girl?"

"No…"

"George? What happened?"

"A little over a week after being assigned to the prince, there was a tournament. One of the contestants was a man named Valiant. He saw that she was female and noticed that Arthur did not. He… He almost raped her…"

"WHAT!?"

George nodded.

"Even I didn't know that part…"

"What does that have to do with Arthur finding out?"

"I am not entirely sure… She was sobbing pretty hard when she told me. All I caught was 'That snake of a man kissed me and started grabbing my body' and then a short time later she said 'and now Arthur knows I am not a boy.'"

"You never asked her later?"

"It was hard enough on her the first time, I wasn't going to stir up bad memories like that!"

"What do you think Leon, does he pass?"

"Yes. Here, read the post statement."

Gwaine took the note and read the whole thing, while still jogging towards the Physician's chambers. As he read, the smile on his face grew. He had planned on only telling the knights in groups of twos anyway.

At this point, the trio finally reached the stairs at the bottom of the tower that housed Gaius's chambers. They were silent as they ascended the steps and remained so until they reached their destination.

George peeked into the room and saw Gwen tending to Merlin while Gaius had his nose in one of his massive tomes. Now was not the time to interrupt. So George turned to the knights.

"Go in and see her, but don't disturb them. I think we should talk somewhere else, Sirs." The longhaired pair knew the boy must be incredibly worried if he was able to give even that mild of a command.

Gwen's head turned when she heard the door open. She smiled at the knights and waved them in. She waved George in as well, but he shook his head. When she gave him a questioning look, he pointed at Gaius and the held up five fingers, then a person shape and then a horizontal cut motion.

It took a moment, but she finally understood the message. "Gaius said five people only." That poor love sick idiot, Gaius meant only five visitors, not five people. Knowing how George was, he would never believe her and he looked so pitiful in the doorway.

Gwen quickly put Gwaine to work bathing Merlin's brow and Leon was sent to have more wood sent to Gaius's chambers. As Gwen had expected, the moment Leon was out of the door, George rushed to Merlin's side. George immediately relieved Gwaine of the cooling cloth and began carefully tending the woman he loves.

"What took him so long to come in? Why did he wait for Leon to leave?" Gwaine asked the maid quietly.

"Gaius had said not to let more than five people in here. George didn't realize Gaius meant other than himself and Merlin. The poor fellow is completely love stricken. If it hadn't been for Lancelot, I believe those two would have married years ago." Gwen said that last part with great sadness.

"Merlin was in love with Lancelot?!" Gwaine barely kept his voice down.

"He never knew. She knew he loved me and thought of her as a sister, so she hid her feelings until he died. The reason she hasn't told George about her feelings is because she was afraid he would feel the same as Lancelot. And she couldn't bare that." The future queen looked lovingly at the couple.

"Bloody idiots, the pair of them. And Lance was a fool too! He was in love with her, which was why he tried to get her back here after the Dorocha froze her. She may be the reason he walked into the veil." Gwaine wanted to go back in time and knock some sense into his friend, but that would mean George would be alone. There was no way to win this.

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By the end of the day, all of the knights knew about Merlin's injuries, the round table knights knew of George's intentions and gave their blessing. All that was left was to get permission from the king.

Leon asked Gwen to break the news to Arthur and explain the situation. She happily agreed and was looking forward to his majesty's reaction. Poor Arthur, he was about to have rug pulled from beneath him.

Gwen smiled at the thought. This was going to be a moment she never forgot. If only Merlin could see it, that would amusing.

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The Round Table Knights waited until they knew Gwen was going to talk to Arthur about the two servants before rushing to listen in at the servant's entrance. They were barely in position when someone knocked on the main door to the chambers.

"Come in! Ah! Guinevere!"

"Arthur."

"How is Merlin?"

"She is worn out, feverish, and would be in a great deal of pain if she were awake."

"I see. Gaius mentioned that you helped him remove a creature from Merlin a few days ago?"

"Yes. After you and she were separated, it turned out that she was taken to Morgana. She put the bone back together and closed the skin with magic. That is all Merlin remembers until two days ago. Gaius and I noticed she was acting odd. That is how we found out about the creature, well at least a head of the creature."

The knights looked at each other in various states of shock. Before any of them could react, Arthur spoke up.

"A head? Why? What did it do?"

"The beast is called a Fomorroh, it has several heads, one of which Morgana placed in the back of Merlin's neck. It eats away your free will and forces you to do what the person who placed it their orders you to do."

"What was Merlin supposed to do?"

"Gaius and I had to stop Merlin multiple times from killing you. That was what Morgana wanted."

"Does Merlin know what she did?"

"We told her about the poisoned meal and the acid bath, but we thought it best not to tell her about the crossbow."

"Where did Merlin get a crossbow?!"

"Arthur, she spends a great deal of time in the armory, she knows where they are kept. She also knows how to load and fire it. But that is not the point. The poison could have been counteracted and the acid would not have been fatal. She knows that, but the crossbow would have unfixable. She would always blame herself despite the fact she failed."

There was a silence in the room and the knight's took that moment to look at each other. Leon looked like he had seen a ghost, Elyan and Percival were nodding silent agreement to Gwen's statement, and Gwaine looked like he was ready to tear Morgana limb from limb.

"Be that as it may, why did no one tell me? Why was a never told that Merlin taught George? Why did she not tell me I was working her to hard…"

"Arthur… George was Merlin's first friend in Camelot. Those two were seen together all the time until his master was found using magic. Merlin got him a low level job in the castle patching the pots and pans. After that, they barely ever saw each other until Cedric."

The knights could practically hear Arthur wince at the memory.

"She wanted you to miss her if that ever happened again, so she taught George how to be perfect knowing it would drive you mad. It also got the two of them working together again."

"Why do I have the feeling you want to tell me something I will not want to hear?"

"Because I do." Silence.

"Well?"

"TheyareinloveandGeorgewantsyourpermissiontocourther!"

"WHAT!?"

The knights heard the king sit down loudly just before the door they had been leaning on was pulled open, causing them to fall into the room.

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	3. Fever's End

AN: Sorry for taking so long to update this story. The only real excuse I have is that I was binge watching Bones...

I hope you guys like this chapter. I would also like to thank those who wrote me the 12 reviews, the 63 who are following this story, the 57 who favorited it, and the 3 people who add this story to their Fem Merlin communities!

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Chapter 3

Previously

" _Why do I have the feeling you want to tell me something I will not want to hear?"_

" _Because I do." Silence._

" _Well?"_

" _TheyareinloveandGeorgewantsyourpermissiontocourther!"_

" _WHAT!?"_

 _The knights heard the king sit down loudly just before the door they had been leaning on was pulled open, causing them to fall into the room._

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Gwen clapped her hand over her mouth. She had not planned on saying all of that at once and the look on Arthur's was of complete denial.

"WHAT!?" The king headed for the nearest chair and Gwen headed for the servant's door. She had planned on leaving the man to his thoughts, but when she opened the door, four knights fell into the room. Gwen jumped back in surprise with a squeak before her eyes landed on her brother.

"Elyan! What did you think you were doing? And the rest of you, be glad you are not related to me." With that said, she grabbed her brother and dragged him protesting from the room.

It was Leon who explained the group to their liege, or at least attempted. "Sire… We… Well… George… and… that is… well, Merlin…"

Arthur stopped him with a raised hand. "I need time to think, but I will dish out appropriate punishment for eavesdropping on the king at training tomorrow. Dismissed!"

Out of the knights, Gwaine was the only one who didn't willingly flee the scene. "Gwaine, when I say dismissed, it means you are to leave."

"I know that Princess. I just wanted to say that Merlin deserves to be happy. If that is with George, then so be it. She already lost Lancelot, don't make her lose this one too." Arthur stared at the knight as he walked off, closing the door behind him.

The king's mind was awash with all of this new information. Merlin had been in love with Lancelot? That explained a lot of things that had been bothering him of the edges of his mind. She had been beyond upset when he died, but he had thought that was because she had lost a good friend, not a loved one.

Now she seemed to have fallen for a servant that, if he was half as good at making her happy as he was at doing his job, then she would be a very lucky girl. The man clearly had strong feelings for her if he was willing to ask those Merlin held in high respect before the woman herself.

Woman. That was another new thing for him. He had always thought of her as his little sister, the one who followed her big brothers everywhere, even places she shouldn't. Today was the first time he had realized that she had grown up into a beautiful young woman who should be allowed to give her heart to whomever she wished.

And just like that, the king realized that he was giving his permission. It felt odd. Like he was giving away a piece of himself.

Arthur got up off of the chair and headed off to Gaius's rooms. He needed to see how merlin was. He also felt he should give his permission to the man who wished to woo his servant in person.

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Gaius was in the middle of tending to the infection in Merlin's shoulder when Arthur walked in. The king blanched at the sight of the swollen joint. He felt terrible for not having noticed the signs and for punishing her for her disappearance and tardiness.

As he stared at her pale, sweaty face, his chest tightened. It was just like the time she had been poisoned during Bayard's visit all of those years ago. She was groaning and shifting. It was clear she had a fever and a nasty infection.

His focus was soon pulled from Merlin to that of the man carefully mopping her brow with a cloth. The man sitting there barely resembled the servant who had tried to serve him a feast for breakfast. He was missing the jacket and neckerchief and his hair had clearly had a hand run through it several times. By the way he lovingly rubbed the cool rag over Merlin's brow and neck, Arthur knew he had made the right choice in giving his blessing to this man.

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Percival was the one staying up with Merlin while George and Gaius slept. He was also the one who had to wake the two when her fever spiked and she began to have what he could only assume were nightmares. Despite the fact that he knew she needed real care, he felt bad for waking the old physician and, by effect, George too.

After a moment of examination, Gaius sent George to get fresh cold water from the well. As soon as the man's running feet could no longer heard that Gaius cut away the cloth covering Merlin's shoulder. It was at least twice the size it should have been.

"Damn it." Percival's eyes widened at the fact Gaius had cursed.

"Percival, Hold her down. I need to drain this and it will likely be very painful to her right now." The big man nodded and careful held down his friend's flailing limbs.

Gaius left his patient's side for a moment and returned with a thin piece of what looked to be dark glass*, a few vials of liquids and pastes, some bandages, and a handful of rags. Percival nearly lost his stomach when he saw the amount of discharge coming out of the small incision the physician made in the center of the scar at the base of the shoulder. If the amount of white-pink liquid escaping her shoulder was any indication, then Merlin had been dealing with this injury for about a week.

That meant that for the past few days, she had been serving Arthur with a wound that would have kept even Gwaine in bed. If she hadn't been under the beast's influence, she likely would not be nearly as sick as she was right now. Curse that blood witch for laying a hand on Merlin!

Just as the purging of infection got too disturbing for the knight to watch, George returned with the water. The poor fellow seemed to go green at the sight, but he pushed through it and once again began wiping down the exposed skin on her neck and chest with the cold water and replaced the heated rag on her head with a cool one. He then began stoked up the fire and put a pot of water over it.

"Thank you George. Run and fetch Gwen. We may have to bath Merlin in cold water it her fever doesn't go down soon." The man paled further, but he nodded and took off at a run.

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They did end up having to bath Merlin to get her fever down. Twice. By dawn, they were all exhausted, but her fever was much better. The swollen shoulder decreased a great deal after it was drained a few times. The thing they had to worry about now was dehydration.

The few times they had managed to get her to swallow some water, she quickly vomited. Broth and weak wine had the same effect. Even Gaius's potions wouldn't stay down long enough to do their job. In the end, George had the solution.

"Fresh sweet apple cider? Where did you get such an idea?" Gaius was astonished at just how much of the fluid his niece was keeping down.

George answered as he continued to feed the sick woman spoonfuls of the juice. "Merlin told me once about what her mother used to do when when she got very sick as a child. Hunith used to mash an apple and sweeten it with honey and feed it to her. This was as close as I could get."

"Leave that to me. I am one of the few people who might be able to talk Audrey into making some. If nothing else, I will slip a few apples from the king's chamber and make it myself!" Gwen announced from where she was changing the bandages compressing Merlin's swollen shoulder.

"Be careful when you talk to her. She is madder than usual." Gwen nodded her understanding before heading out of the room with a basket of laundry.

As the maid slipped out of the room Gwaine slid in. "How is she? Percival was too tired to tell me much, just that her fever spiked and was now back down."

George sent the knight a warning glare when the knight reached for the pin of cider. The man quickly jerked back his hand as if the look had burned him. As the servant turned back to Merlin, Gwaine sent a questioning look to Gaius.

The aging man beckoned the rouge over and explained quietly. "That cider is the only thing she has been able to keep down since yesterday afternoon. He had to sneak it up here. So, stay away from Merlin and the keg, he is tired and is being overly protective."

Gwaine smiled. "She deserves someone who will go against their nature for her. Everyone deserve someone who sneak them apples."

The old physician smiled and rolled his eyes. "Well don't state stealing apples for her. She already has everyone she deserves loving her right now. It would be uncomfortable for her brother to flirt with her."

Gwaine seemed very uncomfortable for a moment before quietly leaving the room with red tipped ears.

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It wasn't long after Gaius slipped George a sleeping draft that Merlin woke slightly. She was clearly disoriented from the fever as she seemed convinced that was trying to kill her. She then began begging Morgana to stop. She then pleaded for water.

Gaius used that moment to get her to drink a some willow bark tea for the pain and fever. She kept it down and seemed to calm before falling back to sleep. After that, her fever seemed to go down, but not quite leave. She also managed to keep down a little broth, but no more than a few spoonfuls. But some was better than none.

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It was near midday when George woke from his drugged sleep. The servant was incredibly mad at Gaius, so mad that he acted as if the man didn't exist. As awkward as the situation was, it was incredibly interesting to everyone around him. Gaius smiled softly, the knights laughed, and Gwen seemed to find it enduring.

It was of course during this time that Merlin's fever finally broke. George seemed to forget that there were other people in the room as he leant down and gave her a deeply passionate kiss. Unconsciously, Merlin pressed into the kiss which triggered an 'Aww!' from Leon, Gwen, and Gaius. Elyan and Percival grinned at the sight and took their leave to tell Gwaine what he had missed.

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*Obsidian aka volcanic glass

AN: Did the apple cider and the semiawake part fell like filler to you guys? Was it too much? Please let me know what you though of it!


	4. Healing?

AN: I am very mean to Merlin in this chapter, so be forewarned.

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Chapter 4

After her fever broke, Merlin slept peacefully for over a day. But when she woke up, she was confused. Her blank seemed warmer, her pillow fluffier, and her room was spotless. Stranger than that, George was asleep at the side of her bed and his hair and clothes were all messed up.

She thought he looked adorable like that. Shirt wrinkled, coat and neckerchief missing, leaving his chest visible. And that hair. She loved those soft locks. Just like she loved the man they belonged to.

It was while she was watching the man she loved sleep that she noticed that this was not her blanket. Hers was tan and threadbare. This one was soft green and much thicker. If the blanket was new, then Merlin assumed the added fluffiness of her pillow likely due it having been replaced as well.

She smile tiredly, as she tried to reach out to wake George. The smile faded as she realized she could hardly even lift her arm. She then decided to call out to him, but her words were nothing more than rough breaths. As unconsciousness once again rose to claim her, she swore silently that she would do it next time.

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Her fatigue made her a liar the next time she woke. Her head she spinning and the world seemed too hot and too cold at the same time. George was across the room mending something, but she couldn't manage to get his attention before sleep reclaimed her.

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It was one the six day that of all of this that she was finally able to get someone's attention while she was awake. As happy as she was about that, she was upset that it was Gwen, not George, who was the person sitting with her. But anyone was better than the last five times or so.

All Merlin had done was squirm and the future queen rushed to her side. "You're awake! Gaius left some drafts for you to take and has standing orders for you to eat."

Gwen bustled off to the lower chamber and returned with three vials and a bowl of mashed apples. "Know how these taste, the apples will help with the flavor."

Gwen then proceed to feed Merlin a spoonful of apple, then a potion, and then more apples. When that was done, Gwen helped her sit up and then checked her shoulder.

"Gaius told Arthur about what happened to you after the rock fall." Merlin lowered her eyes sadly.

"He blames himself for it. He has been here a lot." Gwen looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't.

"Also, Arthur knows about George. Gaius says that his face was priceless when he was told." Merlin smiled at the imagined scene.

She tried to ask for some water, but what came out of her mouth sounded more like a growling puppy. Merlin could have laughed at the confused look her friend gave her before her eyebrows shot up and then ran back down the stairs. She returned with a jug and cup.

She drank nearly all of the jug before Gaius arrived. She sent him a shy smile as he rushed over to hug her. "G'us"

She wanted to stay awake, but she felt the pull of sleep. She fought it as best as she could, but she was losing.

"Did you give her the drafts?"

"Yes. She took them in between bits of the apple mash."

"Which one did you give her first?"

"I gave her the yellowish one first, then the brownish red one. I gave her the purple one last."

"That is likely why she has managed to stay awake this long. The last one was for sleeping."

By this time, Merlin had lost the battle to keep her eyes open and she was nearly defeated in the battle for consciousness.

"Just go to sleep, you deserve it. George should be here when you wake up."

Merlin stopped fighting and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

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It had been an odd two weeks in Camelot. At first, they were all in denial that the plucky little serving girl was dead, then she was back! But she seemed different. Then, they found out she had collapsed from her injuries from the week she was gone. Later, they heard rumors that she had been enchanted for those few days of awkwardness. Now there was word around the kitchen that George asked the king's permission to court her.

During this time, the king was in a foul mood, the knights were on edge, the cook was upset about something, and the household was shy two servants. Everyone was tight strung from everything that had happened. And then there was Lord Agravaine.

The man seemed to be calm on the outside, but when he was away from the king, his eyes showed his inner fury. He fired two servants with no known reason. He even spent a day away right before Merlin's collapse. When he returned and found out about her, the man had the gall to smirk.

All of the servants knew that the man hated the maid, but this was something more. He seemed angry that she was found alive and now he was happy that she was sick and injured. This was wrong and the kitchen maids made it their duty to report these actions to Gwen and George.

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George hardly left Merlin's side after he heard she had woken up. He had been in the woods collecting herb and flowers when Gwen told him about Merlin. When he got back to the castle, he made sure the room was clean, he rearranged the flowers that he had brought back. He even changed his wrinkled and dank shirt for a fresh one, but the neckerchief was not replaced, he only wore it to look like her anyway.

The fact that he wouldn't leave her room was why he woke up to fingers playing with his hair. Only four people were allowed to touch his hair: The king, his mother, his sister, and Merlin. Since his mother was dead, his sister was in the lower town caring for her baby, and the king would not be fondling his hair, it had to be Merlin.

As much as he wanted to hug her and tell her to never scare him like that again, he also didn't want her to stop fiddling with his mane. Then the decision was made for him.

"Gods I love you. If only you loved me back." Her words were nothing more than a soft whisper.

He didn't plan on doing it this way, but it happened as if by instinct. He gently moved into her touch and mumbled "Love you too." in a sleepy tone.

He was still mostly asleep, but he did have to stop himself from whining when the fingers went away. After a moment, they returned and he hummed slightly in contentment. He fell back to sleep as she carded her fingers through his unruly mop.

The next morning, Gaius came in to see both servant fast asleep. Both seemed to have smiles on their faces and Merlin's hand seemed to have fallen out of George's mussed locks. Gaius smiled as closed the door silently, letting them rest in happiness.

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Merlin woke several times throughout the rest of the day. She was also bombarded with visitors. The knights, Arthur, a few of the servants stopped by as well. There was one person who stopped by who was not there to celebrate her returning health, but to wish it a quick end.

Agravaine.

He came by several times, gathering information. By the end of the day, he knew roughly when the wench was awake, who was with her and at what times, and just how bad her condition truly was. This information was all he needed to get rid of her permanently.

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The lord found it strange that most of the assassins he tried to hire seemed happy to do the job until they found out who their target was. A few of the men paled and fled and few seemed appalled at the idea of harming the lass. There was one that had just the right reaction to the name.

He grinned and said "For her, I'll do it for free. That minx has meddled her last, you have my word. It will be a pleasure to rid the world of her."

Agravaine didn't know what the maid had done to receive such a reaction, but he smiled at the knowledge. She would die and he hadn't even needed to pay a single penny. Now all he needed to do was alibi himself. Dinner with Arthur perhaps?

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The next day, Merlin was still weak and tired, but she stayed awake more often and for longer periods. It was during one of those times that the girl begged to be allowed to bathe. She had been submerged in cool water to lower her fever and received two crude sponge bathes from Gwen, but she felt like she had fallen into a bog and then spent the afternoon it the stocks.

It took a while, but finally, Gaius relented. It didn't take long to get the water warmed and carried up the Gaius's chamber. It seemed as if half of the serving staff was helping as well as a few of the knights.

It was in this crowd that a certain assassin slipped a soporific into one of the buckets. The girl would be unable to stay awake in the bath. With luck, she would drown, but that was unlikely. But the drug would make her an easier target for later on.

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The hot water felt so good. It warmed her stiff muscles and creaking bones. It was blissful. It was just as Gwen went to change the soiled sheets that Merlin fell asleep and began to slide down into the water.

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Gwen was glad that Merlin was feeling better. She smiled at the memory of Merlin's face when she helped lower her into the water. As she came down the stairs, her heart froze in her chest.

She dropped the soiled bed clothes and ran to the tub edge. Merlin nose and mouth were both under the water and no bubbles were rising up. She grabbed her friend and pulled her head out of the water.

Merlin wasn't breathing. After a quick check, Gwen was relieved to feel a pulse. She hastily drug the girl's limp form out on to the floor and laid her on her chest. She made sure Merlin's mouth was open before she pressed on her bare back.

Water gushed from her pale lips, but she still wasn't breathing. As she rolled Merlin over, the girl began to cough and gasp. She left her friend on her side until water stopped being coughed out of the girl's lungs.

Gwen rushed to the chamber door and looked down the hall. Near the end of the corridor, Gwaine and George seemed to be deep in conversation.

"George! Get Gaius! Gwaine, I need your help!" As the men began to move. Gwen ducked back into the room.

Gwen squeaked when she realized that she had left Merlin naked and wet on the cold floor. She grabbed the sheets she had dropped earlier and quickly covered her friend moments before the knight burst in.

Gwaine didn't even need to be told what to do. He came over and scooped the limp witch up into his arms and carried her to the patient's cot. He even turned his back to let Gwen replace the soiled sheets with a clean blanket.

Once that was done, Gwaine started asking questions.

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After helping bring Merlin's bath water up from the kitchens, Gwaine and George sat out of hearing range of the physician's chamber, but close enough that they could be called to carry off the used water. While they waited, the knight began milking the servant for stories about Merlin.

"What was the worst thing you have ever seen her do?"

"I saw her kill a few soldiers… It was during Cenred's siege. She didn't even seemed troubled by it. But after the fighting ended, I saw her crying. If she hates killing animals, imagine how harming a human felt for her…"

"I never really thought about it. She has killed on patrols before, but I have never seen her cry afterwards."

"Did she go to get firewood and return a long time later with only a small armload?"

"Damn. How could I have missed that?"

"Everyone does. She doesn't like people seeing her like that."

"She lets you."

George remained silent.

"What about the silliest thing?"

"Rat stew."

"What?"

"She served the Prince rat stew. When he figured out what it was, they both gave it to the Lady Morgana."

"How did she re-" Gwaine's question was interrupted by Gwen's panicked voice.

"George! Get Gaius! Gwaine, I need your help!" She stood in the doorway until they got up. She was there one moment and gone the next.

As George took off at a neck break speed down the stairs, Gwaine ran into the room. Gwen was standing over a wheezing Merlin cover in old bed clothes. Since the girl was lying beside the tub, there was a good sized puddle of water beside her, and she was breathing roughly, the knight assumed that the girl had fallen into the water.

Before Gwen could open her mouth, Gwaine came over and picked up Merlin's quivering form. She was too light and her rattling breaths were painful to hear. He gently laid her on the bed Gaius used for the sick and injured and turned away so Gwen could cover Merlin properly.

"Gwen? What happened? Did she fall in?"

"I don't know! I helped her in and went to change these." She gestured to the soiled sheets. "But when I came back out, her face was in the water! She wasn't breathing!"

The poor maid was shaking and tears were pouring down her face. As he stepped forward, she threw her herself into Gwaine's chest and cried in earnest. They stayed like that until Gaius and George burst into the room. Neither of the men noticed, but the maid pulled back and wiped her eyes.

George sat on the edge of the bed while Gaius checked Merlin over. After listening to her chest, Gaius paused and sniffed her wet locks. His eyebrows rose and he rushed to the tub. He dipped a finger into the water and rubbed the moisture between two fingers under his nose. The group watched as the old man rushed to the work table and back to the bath.

Gaius filled a small jar with some of the water and returned to the bench where he began pouring the liquid into smaller jars and began adding various potions and powders to them. When one of the vials turned a rich orange, Gaius began to grumble. He grabbed a pouch from the shelf and returned to Merlin.

"Gaius? What is it?" Gwen's voice was small and frightened.

"Someone laced her bath with a compound that caused her to fall asleep in her bath. She was too weak to keep herself up. That was why she nearly drowned. It is not your fault Gwen. You couldn't have known."

Gwaine tensed and thought about who could possibly want to harm Merlin. His attention was pulled from that to George as the man nearly growled.

"George. We don't know it was him. Calm down." Gwen sounded unconvinced, but diplomatic.

"You know better. He has never liked her. Who else would do this?" Gwaine's curiosity was peaked now.

"We both know he would never do anything like this himself. He didn't do it." Gwen sounded resigned.

"No, he just kept his sleazy hands clean by paying someone else to." The man's voice was venomous

"We can't prove that!" Gwen squeaked.

"Both of you quiet down! Agravaine doesn't have the knowledge to do this. If he paid someone, his funds would show it. Now keep your voices down or leave." Gwaine took a step back when Gaius bellowed.

"Agravaine?! Arthur's uncle, Agravaine?" The knight felt his blood heat up.

Three heads jerked to face him. Two showed embarrassment and fright, the other seemed insincerely calm. Gwaine began pacing.

"Why didn't I see this before?! He tried so hard to get the princess to call off the searches. He was also missing when we were attacked. And we call Merls here an idiot! I need to tell Arthur." He turned to storm out of the room when three voices called out together.

"No!"

"Gwaine!"

"You will do no such thing!"

Merlin began coughing and the subject seemed to be momentarily forgotten. She wasn't waking up, but her breathing was getting worse.

"Everyone but George get out. I need to work." Gwen and Gwaine practically fled the room.

"I am going to try something. I might collapse from it, so you will need to ready to deal with both of us. Understand?" George had never heard Gaius sound so vulnerable.

"You are going to use magic. That is why you chose me to stay." George was extra worried now. Gaius was Merlin's best hope, but if he hurt himself, she would never forgive herself. George doubted he would forgive himself either.

"Yes. Her lungs can't work properly after warm water entered them. If I don't do this, she could die. I cannot let that happen." The older man was a father to both servants and it showed.

"Be careful. She needs you. We all do." Gaius nodded before gathering a sage bundle.

It took five castings before Merlin seemed to react. As she began coughing up even more water, Gaius crumpled.

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AN: What do you think? Also, I am taking suggestions about how the assassin will try to kill Merlin.

A special thanks to SneakiestBean, Psyka, and Dreamer558750 for their reviews on the previous chapter. Those words meant a lot to me.


	5. AN:

AN: Hello readers,

This is not a new chapter, sorry. Life is hectic right now and I have not really had much time for writing. I do plan on posting new chapters, but I do not know when it will happen. Thanks for all of the favorites, follows, and reviews.

Sorry again,  
Aaronna


	6. Confusion

AN: I am really sorry for leaving you guys waiting for so long.

I have been having a horrible 7 weeks. I've been sick, my family has been sick, my grandfather has hospitalized twice. I have gotten food poisoning, sprained my ankle, and have had constant migraines. During this time I have been finalizing the paperwork for my transferring to a new college, been house hunting for a place near the new college, while having internet issues, getting my email account hacked, three vehicles braking down, computer crashing -thus losing files- and having to quit my job, not being able to find a new job, all on top of massive writer's block...

Despite all of that, I felt bad for leaving this story sitting, so I muscled my way into writing this. It isn't the best, but was the best I could do under my crazy circumstances. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Chapter 5

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George didn't mind watching over the two magic users. It was kind of nice. It hadn't been hard to get Gaius to bed and cleaning up the water Merlin coughed up only took a minute. The thing that really bothered him was that Merlin's breathing was still rough and she was still wet and naked under that blanket and there was nothing he could do about it.

Or was there? It wouldn't be inappropriate if he toweled her hair, would it? And if he ended up not only drying her hair, but combing and braiding it, what harm would that be? He braided her hair all the time anyway.

So he grabbed another blanket and a towel and covered her with a second layer before he started drying the woman he loved's hair. He had her hair halfway plaited when Gaius began to stir. The servant quickly finished Merlin hair before grabbing a mild headache remedy and a cup of water and settling down beside the older man.

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He woke slowly as his worried mind drove his sore and exhausted body into consciousness. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on his bed. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he realized his head was incredibly painful. Once his eyes focused, he saw George sitting there like an angel of mercy holding the very remedy he needed and water, bless him.

After downing both of them, he managed to sit up by himself and glance around. He saw the floor had been dealt with, he noticed that Merlin had an extra cover and now had braided hair. It was clear that the boy hadn't known what to do, as he had done anything he could think of.

As the headache faded, he pushed himself to his feet and sent George to find Gwen so that they could get Merlin dressed. The boy nodded, and after at emotion filled look at the girl, he rushed off. Once the lad was out of the room, he began examining his ward.

She was still having trouble breathing, her shoulder was swelling back up, and she would likely be out for over a day with the amount of the drug in the bathwater. None of which was good. While waiting for Gwen to arrive, he began wrapping the inflamed joint. He knew it might take some time to find her.

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It had taken a bit of convincing, but Gwen managed to get Gwaine to calm down enough to talk to Arthur about what happened. The knight kept stating that 'the princess won't listen, Agravaine is his family' and that he could deal with the weasel himself. But by the time they reached the King's chamber, he understood the plan in which they were only going to tell the blonde the facts and then watch the vile lord themselves.

Her plan fell flat on its face when Arthur sent Gwaine to gather volunteers to guard Merlin and George running up and gasping out that Gaius needed her. The rest of the day was spent constantly rushing about the castle, helping out with Merlin, trailing Agravaine, and questioning all of the servants who helped tote the water to see if anyone had seen who dosed it. By the time evening came around, she was exhausted.

Despite her weariness, she told Gaius she would sit with her fellow maid that night. If Gaius hadn't looked half dead, she would have gone home and came back fresh in the morning. George was even worse off than both of them and had been slipped a sleeping draught in the only food they had gotten him to eat.

The man was pushing himself further than anyone Gwen had ever seen. He had personally seen that the drugged water was disposed of properly so that no one else would be harmed by it. That was after he had run across the citadel several times looking for her for Gaius. After the water, had not stopped doing anything and everything to keep busy.

It was clear that he was worried and likely angry about what all had happened, but he would never say so. Gwen had known George long enough to tell that it was all he could do not to scream in frustration. If the two of them had been left alone, she knew the man would have do something rash. Thankfully, Gaius knew George as well and made sure there was some little thing to do so that the servant wouldn't seek revenge after Agravaine.

George wasn't the kind of person who carried thoughts of pain or harm, but when something happens to those he cares about, the man often lost all rational thought. Merlin only barely stopped him from burning down the house of the man who had bumped into his mother causing her to fall and crack her head on the edge of a stall. She never woke up after that and George had run off the moment her breathing stopped. Gwen had seen how he looked the next morning when he realized what he had almost done. If Merlin hadn't stopped him, he would have hated himself for it.

Now it was Merlin who was the one who was laying there, struggling to take a full breath. If Merlin died, the maid was sure that the slippery snake of a lord would soon follow. Mainly because the two people who knew what the servant was capable of wouldn't lift a hand to stop him.

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Agravaine was pleased to hear that the serving wench had nearly died earlier that day. He knew the man must have had a plan if he only injured her. It was doubtful that she survive whatever the assassin had planned for her next.

And the best part was, none of it could ever be traced back to him. No money ever changed hands, so there was no tie to his funds. And even if someone had seen the two of them together, there was no proof that he knew what the killer had planned.

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Gwen hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she had been so tired. Gaius was out cold in Merlin's room and George had been escorted home by Gwaine after the dosed dinner he had been given. She thought she had only dozed off for a moment when the knight returned and woke her up.

As she lifted her head, needles of pain shot up her neck and into her skull. She scrunched her eyes closed and breathed through the pain. She could hear Gaius and Gwaine talking, but she mostly heard her blood pumping through her ears.

She felt the old man's cool fingers touch the side of her neck just before a sharp stabbing raced up and down her neck and back. "I need to remove these Gwen. I know it hurts, but I need you to stay still. Gwaine, steady her head."

She couldn't help the whine of pain that escaped her lips as she felt three different things get removed from the base of her neck.

"Gaius? What were those?" Gwaine's voice was thick with worry.

Gwen was still slumped over onto Merlin's cot as the physician kneaded something cool into the burning section of her neck. "They appear to be locust thorns dipped into a drug to incapacitate its victim. Gwen? Can you move your head?"

She tried, but it felt like her neck was strapped to a board. She tried to tell him, but her tongue refused to work. She started to panic when the two men helped her to sit up.

"I was afraid of that. Gwen, it is alright. You and Merlin will be just fine. I need you to drink this. If your throat is paralysed it might go down the wrong way, but don't panic." She tried to open her eyes but they felt to heavy to lift.

As she felt the liquid enter her mouth, she noted that there was no taste. As the potion began to gather at the back of her mouth, her panic came rushing back only to be relieved by Gaius's caring hands that stroked her throat in such a way that her body instinctively swallowed. It was then that she heard the knight's quiet words.

"Will they be alright? I should have come back and checked on them last night after I took George home."

"Don't blame yourself. I was just in the other room and was none the wiser. But Merlin seems to have only fallen from the bed. The toxin on those darts would have killed Merlin in her weakened state. Gwen will be fine, but it will take a better part of the day for the drug to leave her system."

"How did this happen? And why did the attacker leave before finishing the job? Surely h-"

Gwen whimpered as the chamber door flew open and banged into the wall of shelves behind it.

"Gaius!"

"Leon? Wha- Is that George?!"

"He was found in the lower corridors. He has blood all over him, but none of it seems to be his. I tried waking him…"

"Bring him over here."

After a few minutes, the silence was once again broken.

"How is he?"

"He took a few of the same darts used on Guenevere. None of the blood is his, but he seems to have taken a bite out of someone's hand. I would suggest you look for a trail of blood looking for a man missing his last finger."

"Is that…"

"This is likely the finger of Merlin's poisoner and Gwen attacker."

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AN: I have no idea where this is supposed to go from here, so I will be just as surprised as you guys as to what happens next.


	7. Back Story

AN: Sorry it took so long to get this written... Life has been crazy and I put off class work to get this finished for you all. I hope you like it.

Chapter 6

Getting information from two very groggy servants was an incredibly slow process. Gwen had never seen who had come into the room, but it had taken nearly an hour after she woke up to find that out. George was even worse.

It hadn't been clear at first, but the man had a concussion, which's symptoms had been masked by the drug, and had injured his jaw and gums when he bit off the man's digit. The servant was barely coherent and when he was, his injured mouth caused the words to be slurred and garbled. His focus was so bad that he couldn't even write down what had happened.

When Arthur found out, he was furious and sent scores of men to search the citadel and city for the attacker. He had Elyan escort Gwen home and was given instruction from Gaius to let her sleep off the drug and see to it that she eats. George was dosed with a painkiller and settled in Merlin's room.

Not long after George finally fell asleep, the some knights barged in with a limp and bloody form. The physician ushered them to crude cot of wood and canvas so that he could look the man over. One look and Gaius not only knew that this was the attacker from the night before, but also who this was.

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Cyfruis* had once been one of Uther's spies before Odin offered enough money to override his loyalty to Camelot. His first attempt on Arthur ended with Merlin revealing him in front of several knights and cortiers by tripping and exposing his crouched position with a loaded crossbow in his hands. They had been close to the training grounds, so a stray arrow from the new recruits would have been blamed for the accident.

If Merlin hadn't snuck a look at Cyfruis with a proud smile on her face, the man would have assumed the girl had just been lucky. The prince and the knights saw the spy and one of the ladies of court who was in the group cried out, "That man tried to kill us!" The man took his shot and ran. How the bolt missed the target at that range was mystery, but it proved that his loyalty was no longer to Uther.

He fled the city, but returned a few months later to try again, only to be stopped by the girl again when he snuck in the prince's window. She hit him over the head with something and tied him up with some rope from the wardrobe. The noise of doing so woke the royal brat, who called the guards. He escaped the dungeons easily and changed tactics.

The next few times he made his move outside of the city. Snakes on the paths the prince prefered to use when exercising his horse, drugged water in previously safe watering spots, or even some arrows during patrols. Each time that maid stopped him.

She would notice the snakes before the horses and warn her master or rides ahead and collect them in a sack that was usually meant for game. The maid always seemed to know the water wasn't good or would be sure to test it herself before allowing the prince or the horses to use it. And the arrows, the lass seemed to feel his gaze when he took aim. She would make Arthur stop suddenly, speed up, or even fall off his horse just before the bolt found its target.

After the twelfth time or so, Odin retracted his support for the assassination. On top of that, Uther had a price on his head and Odin spread the word that he wasn't worth the money to hire him. Luckily, Alined ignored Odin's message and hired him to spy on his neighboring kingdoms for a few years.

After the Lady Morgana took over Camelot, he was sent to the city to gather intel. After awhile, the sleazy king decided he knew enough and cut ties with the assassin/spy saying for him not to return to Deorham. From then on, he was an assassin for hire in Camelot.

He had been wary of Lord Agravaine at first, but after seeing three other assassins come and go from the meeting spot, he risked it. When he found out the target was none other than the meddlesome maid, he smiled. This mission wasn't for money, but revenge.

Sneaking in as a guard was too easy and drugging the water was even easier. He hoped she would drown, but it wasn't every likely unless she was worse off than the slimey lord said. What it would do was draw attention to the city and away from the bothersome wench.

He waited until the knight guarding her escorted the male servant away before approaching the chamber. Listening near the door he heard the old man retire into the back room. Cyfruis slunk back into the shadows and waited to see if the knight would return or be replaced.

After four hours, the assassin assumed that there was no one on watch that night and that the physician would be sound asleep. When he eased the door open, he saw the curly haired maid was barely awake and facing away from him. This would be too easy.

Cyfruis loaded a few darts into a thin pipe and shot them at the exposed portion of the girl's neck. When Gwen fell forward onto Merlin, the injured girl woke up. The assassin had used the sedative compound many times in the past and never had the victim woken this soon. He didn't know that Gaius had purged most of the mixture from the witch just hours before.

As he reached for his next weapon, the oddest thing happened. As his hand touched the drugged cloth in a pouch on his waist, he was flung back into the hallway and the girl was thrown from her bed to the cold floor. The man didn't know who had done it, but that had been magic.

Surely Gaius wouldn't have resorted to using sorcery after all these years, but who else would be using magic to save the wench? Not wanting to face the spellbinder who had done this, Cyfruis fled. If he lived, there there was always another chance to get even with the raven haired serving girl.

As he ran, he grabbed a handful of the locust darts and held them at the ready in case he was seen. He hid in the shadows as best he could as he slowly made his way out of the castle. He was forced to backtrack several times when his route held pairs of patrolling guards. In the end it took him over two hours to find an unguarded exit.

That was when he ran into a very angry and ticked off George.

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It wasn't until he had eaten half of his meal that he realized what Gaius and Gwen had done, but by then it was too late. He could feel the heaviness weighing down his eyelids, so he forced them to stay open just a little longer and discretely disposed of the rest of his stew into Gaius's bowl since Gwen was staying up with Merlin. Once that was done, he let his eyes close.

After that he barely remembered anything before waking up in his own bed. He suspected that Gwaine had been the one to take him home, but that was just a feeling. The one thing he did know was that Gwen and Gaius were going to regret drugging him.

It was nearly dawn when the servant reached the citadel. And he guessed it had been nearly seven hours since the two people he had called his friends had drugged him. It wasn't even the fact that they had dosed him with a sleeping draft that angered him, it was the fact that they had had someone take him all the way to his mother's house on the outer edge of the city. He would have been fine sleeping on the floor in Merlin's room if nothing else, but they sent him home to the place that reminded him of what he had lost and what he would do to keep it from happening again.

Just as he was entering the lower servants' entrance he collided with a face that he never thought he would see again. In that moment, George understood and that caused him to act without thinking. His mouth opened to call for guards or anyone nearby, but was stopped by the assassin's hand.

George didn't think twice before clamping his teeth into the palm of the attackers hand like a starving dog fighting to keep a piece of meat. Cyfruis jerked his hand away, jarring the servants jaw painfully. The man ignored his hurting mouth and lunged himself at the person who had harmed the woman he loved.

George dug his nails into Cyfruis face at the same time the former spy jammed his fist full of darts into his adversary's neck. George turned his head and grabbed the hand between his teeth while clawing at the assassin's eyes. And that was the last thing the servant remembered before his back and head collided with the passage wall.

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Gaius stared at the figure on the cot for only a moment before send he sent one of the knights to get the king. For the first time since the purge, Gaius was tempted to not treat the patient before him. In fact, he was quite proud of the damage George had inflicted.

The man's face was in shreds and his left eyelid was nearly torn off. Both of the traitor's hands were coated with blood from bite marks and the missing end finger. What didn't make sense to the physician was why the man was unconscious. His injuries were painful, but not so much as to make him pass out nor could it be from blood loss.

"Where was he found? Was he unconscious when he was found?" Gaius questioned as he turned to the three knights still in his chambers.

They were young knights who had given their positions after the city was reclaimed from Morgana and Morgause. Two of them had been guards at the time and the other, a squire. None of them had expected to be knighted by the Prince Regent, now King, but they and nearly a dozen more had been promoted over a year before.

Sir Evan was the one who answered Gaius's questions. "He was found at the foot of the inner wall. I believe he may have wandered off the edge due to his hindered sight."

Gaius nodded. The wall on the palace side was only waist high, while on the side with the city, it was a nearly a thirty foot fall. It would have been easy for the injured assassin to have toppled over the edge, especially given the condition he was in and that he would have been facing the rising sun as well.

As much as he wanted the renegade spy to suffer for his actions, the physician knew that they would need information that only the bleeding man could supply. So while he waited for Arthur to arrive, he got to work making sure that assassin would live to provide the answers needed. He just hoped that if Agravaine had been behind this, that the noble wouldn't attempt to end the man before he could expose the true loyalties of the king's uncle.

The real issue that pressed on Gaius's mind was whether the young royal would believe his uncle was a traitor, or would he deny the facts in front of him like he had always done with family in the past.

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After the guard turned knight told him the girls' attacker had been found and was currently under Gaius's care, Arthur thanked the man and had him send word to the other search parties. As soon as he heard that the poisoner was in need of the physician's care, the king couldn't help but wonder what all George had done to the man.

He knew that the servant had bitten off one of the man's fingers and according to Leon, the man had had blood all over his hands and arms as well as his face. What could a servant half drugged, both by gaius and the attempted assassin, have accomplished like that? Arthur wasn't sure if he was proud of the man, or scared.

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AN: *Cyfruis is a butchered version of the Welsh word for sly.

So what did you guys think? Should I have this story break canon even more an it already is? Should I have the assassin die without ratting out Agravaine? Should I expose the Lord? Please let me know in a quick review. Any ideas are welcome!


	8. AN: 2

Sorry, but this is not a new chapter.

My life is a bit of a mess right now. I moved in August to a new city and a new university. On top of that, I am living by myself for the first time ever in an area where vehicles are vandalized nearly every night.

In October, my grandfather died. This split by family even deeper than before. I have also been struggling with my depression, but no one here seems to understand.

Due to all of this, I haven't written much in months that is not related to one of my classes. I hope to post a new chapter for Merlin's Girl, The Lullaby, and Plan B: George before the new year, and a holiday Merlin story before the 25th.

A big thank you to those who have stuck around during my unintended absence. *hugs* It really means a lot to me.

~Aarona


	9. Revelations

AN: Sorry… I didn't get any of the updates I wanted written by the new year done, and my holiday story was nearly done by Christmas Day, but I am having issues deciding how to end it.

I got many encouraging reviews from you all despite this. Thank you for that. It left me in the Christmas mood the entire season long. Thank you all again and I hope you all like this chapter! *Hugs*

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Chapter 7

Agravaine was the last to know that the rogue spy had been caught. He was furious that he, Arthur's Uncle and Right Hand, had not been informed. Had he been, he would have seen that the injured man was placed in the coldest, dampest, most vermin infested cell he could find. The elements would have finished him off soon enough.

But no. The one person who could prove he was the one who put a price on the wench's head was under guard and being treated by the most experienced healer in the five kingdoms! Not only that, his idiot nephew was sitting in the Physician's chambers waiting to question the traitor to moment he woke!

It was only a matter of time before Arthur found out the true. There was nothing keeping him in the city now. He just hoped the Lady Morgana would be able to use this to her advantage. If not, he was as good as a dead man.

A disgusted, yet amused, snort pushed its way out of him. Uther had seen to it that he had no family but Ygraine's blasted son, now both of Uther's spawn would be out for his blood. He was never supposed to die at a Pendragon's hand, but when had the old tales and prophecies ever been clear cut.

With that thought, the dark-haired lord gathered anything of value, clothing, and as much food as he could without drawing notice and slipped out of the city. By the time Arthur accepted that he had once again been duped, he would be long gone. His only regret was that he wouldn't get to see the look on the brat's face when the truth came out.

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Leon had been wound so tight over the past few days since the whole thing with Merlin collapsing, George opening up about his feelings for her, Merlin nearly drowning, Gwen and George being attacked by a former spy of Camelot, and then catching said assassin. Gwaine wasn't much better. That why Arthur sent them on a short patrol around the city and forest edge.

The day was beautiful and the horse ride was just what they needed to clear their heads. Leon was having some rare bonding time with one of his fellow brothers-in-arms and said knight wasn't rambling off random tavern tales. Instead, they were telling each other stories about how they met Merlin and George, their first battle wound, the difference between where they grew up and Camelot, and things like that.

Leon never would have pegged Gwaine a being from Carleon, but then again, Gwaine had assumed he was from Camelot. In fact, he was in middle of telling the rogue knight about growing up under the rule of Lord Godwyn when they spotted a figure sneaking out of one of the siege tunnels. He didn't recognize the person until Gwaine nearly growled the man's name.

"Agravaine."

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Arthur hated waiting. He was a man of action. Sure, he could wait for hour for a deer or in an ambush for an enemy, but his mind was always on the task. Right now, all he could do was worry about the two most important women in his life and wonder who would have sent his father's disgraced spy turned assassin after them.

He also wondered about George. The man had bored him with his dullness, but now he knew that had been an act. Why kind of person was he? Gaius, Guinevere, and the knights seemed to know him well enough. What kind of will must a man have to push through being drugged twice and fight a trained assassin with only his teeth and nails and nearly win?

Gaius had shown him the damage to the former spy's face and hands. The marks were not that different from that of a mad hound. Cyfruis had damage from his fall, but that seemed minor compared to the damage inflicted by the servant. Arthur wanted just as badly to question George as he did Cyfruis, but the man hadn't come away from the fight without injuries of his own.

Gaius had briefed him on what was wrong with Merlin's… Well Arthur wasn't sure what to call their relationship. Whatever the word, George had deep cuts to his gums from the spy's nails. He also had several loose teeth, one missing, a concussion, several badly damaged finger tips, and good number of bruises. But none of that seemed to keep the man from Merlin's side.

Currently, George was asleep on his side on the floor by Gaius's bed, in which Merlin was sleeping, with his least damaged hand covering her's. It was clear how much he cared about her and if the fight was any sign of what he would do for her, who was he to keep them apart? It would take time to grow accustom to the idea, but Merlin deserved someone who would care for her like that.

Looking up from the servant on the floor, the king locked eyes with his surprisingly awake maidservant.

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The first thing Merlin noticed as her consciousness returned was how scratchy her throat felt as she breathed. The second was the heavy, warm weight over her. How many blankets had they piled on her? Three? Any more than that and Gaius would have had to borrow a few.

Gaius. She was in Gaius's bed, not her own. Why? What had happened? Oh. Right. She had been tortured and controlled by Morgana, then she had been forced to bed while her shoulder was treated. But she distinctly remembered being in her own bed when George mumbled that he loved her.

With that that thought giving her strength, she slowly opened her eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but after a few moments her vision focused. She glanced around without moving her head.

She was right about being in Gaius's bed and at the number of blankets. Shifting her line of sight, she saw Arthur sitting in a chair by the patient cot. As if he felt her gaze, Arthur looked up from where he had been staring and looked her right in the eye.

A small smile formed on his face and stood up. As he did so, Merlin got her first glimpse of Cyfruis. Despite the paste and the wounds, she knew that man. She had come face to face with him too often not to, and seeing it now reminded her about her most recent encounter.

Had she caused those cuts? All she remembered was Gwen collapsing and then sending the assassin flying. What had happened? Was Gwen alright?

She must have been panicking since Arthur rushed to her side and asked her to calm down. Her attempts to slow her breathing turned into sharp, dry coughs. She felt herself being shifted into a sitting position before her exhaustion and lack of air caused her to pass out.

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The sound of dry wheezing coughs brought him back to his senses lightning quick. He knew that cough. He had been the causes of it on more than one occasion. Poison, a rag around her neck, he even choked her with his bare hands the one time. He knew her coughs and nothing was going to keep him from seeing her suffer through it this time.

He only managed to open his right eye due to the bandage across the other one, but it was enough for him to see the bane of his trade cough a few more times in the arms of her master before passing out. It was a pity her demon-like companion on the floor had missed the scene, it would have made the view that much sweeter. He enjoyed watching others suffer.

That had been why Uther had hired him in the first place. The late king like having ruthless men at his call. Adrian was fine example of that. Pity the man turned to sorcery and ended up a stain on the stones of the courtyard, the man had talent.

Though it seems the new king was similar in that respect. The wench was a sly and clever one and proved to be quite loyal to her master, much like a true breed bitch. The king's closest knights were known for their skill and clever tricks. And then there was the new servant.

There boy was just as he had been in his youth. Sharp, unimposing, but dangerous. If he had to be mauled by anyone, Cyfruis was glad it was someone with a hint of madness in them. And there had been insanity in the lad's eye when he attacked. The boy had been a worthy opponent.

Thinking about the damage the servant had caused, the injured assassin turned his eyes from the two commoners and the worried royal to his maimed hands. The boy had broken two of his fingers and bit off his last finger at the lower knuckle on the one hand and left a nasty wound and bruises on the other one. He couldn't see most of the damage, but he could feel it.

'Not bad for an untrained servant. With some instruction, that boy would make a perfect spy.' He quickly brushed off those thoughts. He clearly had too many ties to his current life for the job. What a pity.

Further thoughts on George were cut off when a shadow fell over his cot. Looking towards the fire, he saw the hulking form of Sir Percival glaring at him. The light from the window and the flames in the hearth hid the knight's features, but if the hairs on the back of the former spy's neck were any indication, he was receiving a death glare from the giant.

Without a word, the large man silently made his way over to Cyfruis's side. When the man spoke, it was hardly more than a whisper, but it chilled the prone man's blood. It was only one word with a great deal of power and anger backing it.

"Why?"

Never had the assassin wanted to hide like he did at that moment. Even Late King Uther during the height of the Purge hadn't frightened him, yet a single word from a former peasant shook him to his core. There was no way he was going to take the blame for this alone. If he was going to pay, then so was the greasy snake Agravaine.

"It was a job. Get rid of the girl. Sounds simple unless you know the target. The _Girl_ is not the easiest person to sneak past or trick, so I waited until she was vulnerable. Even then I couldn't best her."

"You mean kill."

"Yes. She is full of surprises."

"Why did you attack Gwen?"

"She was in the way. It wasn't her I was hired to remove."

"What happened."

"Despite my time in Uther, Odin, and Alined, I have no idea what happened. There was magic used, but there was no one there to cast it. Seeing as it threw _Her_ from the bed, the caster wasn't there to protect the girl, but to stop me. Because of that, I retreated."

"And met George."

"Indeed. A bit feral, but a worthy opponent."

"Like a badger.""

"A badger protects its mate, not- oh. Interesting."

Nothing else was said, so Cyfruis let his mind follow the path the knight's last comment opened. Had she trained him? She had always known what was coming, had she forewarned him? How dare she take his perfect quarry and turn him into a love-struck pawn. The thought sickened him.

Lost in his hateful thoughts of Merlin, he missed the king's arrival at his side.

"Percival, help George with Merlin. I will take it from here."

Cyfruis watched as the hulking form of the knight was replaced by that of the young king. Glancing towards the bed that housed the meddlesome maid, he saw that the servant sleeping on the floor was now awake holding the wench lovingly. The sight disgusted the assassin, so he turned his gaze to the king. The light hit his face in just the right way that looked like he had two different faced pressed together as one. One cold and emotionless, the other burning with anger.

Never had the former spy felt any respect towards Arthur, but looking at him now, with the light as it was, he respected him more than he ever had Uther. This wasn't the overly proud and pompous prince that he had watched grow up. Not at all, this was the face a true warrior and sound king.

"Who hired you?"

"Who said I was hired?"

"Odin paid you to try all those years ago, surely you didn't wait all this time to try again. So, who hired you?"

*chuckles darkly* "So she didn't tell you? My, my. How on earth did she explain all of those times away?"

"Who?"

"Your pet, Merlin. She is a tough one."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have been back many time since the first time that brat exposed me during my first attempt on you. She is very good at finding and setting off my traps, but I have gotten her a few times."

"So, this is revenge?"

"Partly. I was offered the chance, so I took it."

"Who offered?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Who offered?"

"Don't blame me if you don't like what I have to say."

"Tell me."

"Agravaine."

"My uncle would never-"

"He has never liked you! He hates you for taking his sister from him. He knows that if that wench is at your side he will never be rid of you. It wouldn't surprise me if he had joined forces with your sister."

"I won't sit here and listen to your lies."

"If you don't believe me, look behind her left ear. There should be a nasty scar from our last encounter. She is a biter, but the butt of a dirk seemed to have loosened her jaw quickly."

Cyfruis watched with a smirk as the king walked determinedly over to his maid's cot to look at the scar. He also heard the low voice of the king and knight and watched as the serving boy nodded and shook his head to their quiet questions. A growl for the Arthur make it clear that he didn't like what the boy had said as did the pacing that followed.

His fun of watching the king slowly fall apart was cut short by shivers that were slowly becoming more noticeable. The pain in his hands and face began to make itself known as the pain reliever he must have been given wore off. Soon, the pain grew too much to bare, causing him to lose consciousness.

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Gaius returned to his chambers expecting them to as peaceful and quiet as he had left them. Instead, he found both of his patients struggling to breath, the king hiding in the corner, and two worried young men trying to ease their charge's breathing. Opting to deal with the withdrawn king after he stabilized his patients, the physician rushed to Merlin's side and checked her over. He them gave instructions to George before turning his attention to the traitor in the other bed.

Cyfruis was pale, sweating from a raging fever, shaking like a leave in a wind storm, on top of the labored breathing. An examination of the wounds under the bandages showed extensive infection in all of them. It was doubtful that draining them of the puss and washing them out would save the man, but it was his duty to save those he could, so he tried his best to heal the man who had tried to kill his ward.

It took over an hour and good bit of help from Percival to cleanse the wounds and reduce the fever to a controllable level. During that time, George had managed to settle Merlin's breathing and had fallen asleep holding her in a reclined position that allowed her to breath easily. Arthur hadn't moved at all. Leaving the spy turned assassin with the knight, Gaius made his way to the young king.

"Sire?"

"How are they?"

"Merlin should be fine. She seemed to have breathed in too deeply, disturbing the water still in her lungs. As for Cyfruis, I doubt he has long for this world."

"Good."

"Sire? Did you not wish to question him?"

"He woke up earlier and we spoke."

"I see. What did he have to say?"

"He told me my uncle ordered this. That Agravaine tried to have Merlin killed."

"Ah."

"You knew? You knew my uncle was plotting against me and you said nothing?!"

"I had no proof, sire. I hoped I had been wrong, but it appears I was not."

"He said Merlin has stopped him before."

"She asked me not to tell you."

"I am the king, I should be told when there is someone trying for my life?"

"It started long before your father's death, even before your regency. Your father knew and wished it kept from you, lest you seek him out."

"All those times I punished her for not listening to me or for lazing about. How many of them were because she was injured or trying to protect me?"

"I don't know sire. Those are questions best left for Merlin to answer once she has recovered enough to do so."

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AN: What do you think? Should I allow the spy/assassin to die from his infected wounds, have someone kill him, such as Agravaine, or should I allow him to survive only to be executed for treason?

What should I have happen to Agravaine? Please let me know!

Also, thank you for reading! It means so much that people read my author's note and left their encouraging reviews.


	10. Complications

AN: Sorry it took so long to get this written and posted. Life has been a wild ride since the year started. Now that things have somewhat settled down, I finally had time to write.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It has George!Whump in it because I had no control over my muse. Hopefully it won't take me months to get the next chapter out, but since I have several stories on here I need to update, it just might….

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Chapter 8

Elyan was torn. Part of him wanted to sit in their father's old house and protect his sister, while another part of him wanted to march up the Gaius's chambers a finish what George had started. He had been pulled between those two choices since Leon and Gwaine had told him, on their way out of the city to patrol, what had happened since he had brought Gwen home.

So far, protecting Gwen had won. He knew that the man who had hurt her was currently under Percival and Arthur's guard, but he really wanted to tear the man apart for what he had done. Not only Gwen, but Merlin too.

If it hadn't been for Merlin, he wouldn't be back in Camelot and definitely not a knight. She was like a little sister that didn't know when to stop and was always finding trouble. Alright, so maybe it was the trouble finding her, but either way, she was always into something.

He had thought that George would have been the rational one of the couple, but if what his brothers-in-arms had told him was true, she was the brains of the two. What kind of idiot attacks an armed assassin with nothing but your teeth and nails? If Leon hadn't been the one telling the story, Elyan would have thought it just that, a story.

It was hard for him to believe it had only been a few hours ago, that it had all happened. George had been found a little after dawn and the would-be assassin about an hour after that. Now it was just shy of midday.

He wasn't sure when his sister would wake up, so he decided he had best make their lunch now, just in case she woke up soon. He had learned a lot during his time away and cooking was one of the ones he was most proud of. He wasn't nearly as good a cook as Merlin, but he wasn't nearly as bad as Gaius.

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Gwaine was angry and happy at the same time. He was angry at Agravaine for trying to get Merlin killed and in doing so hurt Gwen and George. But he was happy that the slime ball had tried sneaking out during his and Leon's little patrol so that he could be the one to bring him before Princess as the traitor he is.

He was also glad that it was Leon with him and not some other knight who would just brush off the fact that the King's uncle was sneaking away from the castle using the emergency escape routes that only a few highly-trusted knights knew about. The First Knight would at least want to question Agravaine about his careless use of the tunnels that could jeopardize the safety of the city.

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Leon was slowly becoming furious. He had never cared for Agravaine and he had first met him when his family visited Camelot when Arthur was only six years old. It had been fairly clear his dislike for his nephew back then and each time after. So, the knight had been on guard when he showed up after Morgana's betrayal and acted like he truly cared about Arthur.

There had been times where it was clear that the Lord was purposely misguiding the prince turned king, but Arthur had been blinded to it because he craved family. Now the contemptible noble had compromised the safety of the city by using the siege tunnels, ones that he wasn't even supposed to know about, to sneak off to gods know where. ' _Morgana_ ' his mind traitorous mind added, but he couldn't deny the possibility.

Add in Agravaine's extreme dislike for servants and peasants, especially Merlin, it was likely he had been behind the attack on the poor girl. If the look on Gwaine's face was an accurate indicator of his thoughts, he had come to the same conclusion. With these offences firmly planted in his mind, the First Knight of Camelot pushed forward to catch the foul uncle of his king.

Not wanting to waste time, he got Gwaine's attention and gestured for them to secure the horses and go after the lord on foot. The satisfied glint in his comrade's eyes improved Leon's mood more than he had thought it could. Together, they drew their swords and moved swiftly, yet silently, towards Agravaine.

It was almost sad how easily they crept up behind the former knight. Leon was offended that the man hadn't even noted their approach. Either Arthur had much higher standard for his knights, or Agravaine had gained his title without proper training. Whichever it was, the king's unofficial right hand hadn't been expecting them when they placed the tip of their swords to his back.

"Ah. Gentlemen. What a surprise." Agravaine's words were eerily close to those said by the old sorcerer not but a week before that the four of brothers-in-arms had sworn never to speak of.

Sharing a wary look, the two men flanked him wordlessly.

"Sir Leon, I must protest. There must be a part of the Knight's Code on how to treat a former knight. Surely." The similarity to the old sorcerer's words were too close for Leon's comfort.

"There is, but seeing as you have betrayed the crown, we don't have worry about that." Leon was thankful that Gwaine had come up with a response.

Neither man was truly surprised when Agravaine's attitude changed at Gwaine's statement.

"You are hardly one to talk. What would your late father think of you now?" Leon didn't know what the foul lord was talking about, but his friend clearly did as he was now pale and livid.

"I've a mind to run you through, but seeing as Arthur will prefer us to bring you back alive, I'll stay my sword. But hear this, if you mention my father again, you will be a dead man." Leon could only blink at the smirk that formed on the former knight's face.

"Now that is the son of the man I personally put down like the mangy creature he was. Nothing but Carleon's lap dog, that one." Seeing the pure, unaltered rage in Gwaine's eyes, Leon did the only thing he could think of. He cleanly and effectively brought his sword hilt down in the back of Agravaine's head, causing the man to crumple to the forest floor.

Stepping between the enraged knight and the piece of slime in the dirt, the lead knight tried to calm his friend down. "I didn't understand what he was saying, but Gwaine, he was playing you. He wanted you to attack him out here, away from Camelot and away from Arthur. We need to take him back and let the king know the truth about his uncle."

The anger in Gwaine's eyes lessened slightly, and now he seemed almost heartbroken as well. Leon was relieved when the man nodded his understanding and hefted the unconscious traitor over his shoulder, none too gently. The blonde was proud of his dark-haired companion. It was clear that Agravaine had hit a very sore nerve, yet the former rogue was willing to let Arthur have a say in the fate of the last the de Bois line.

o=(======= .'˳*˳'. =======)=o

George was still groggy and lightheaded from his head injury, near constant adrenaline rushes when Merlin got into a nasty coughing fit, and from hardly having ate or drank in days. He was hungry, but he doubted he would be willing to eat anything Gaius put in front of him for a long time. Now that his anger had faded, he understood why they had drugged him, but he was still upset that they had forced him to go back to his empty house.

He was lost in the thoughts about his rage as he has clawed the man who had hurt Merlin on more than one occasion. He could still feel the skin tearing under his fingernails, the taste of the man's blood in his mouth, and the how hurt when he ripped the pinky finger from the assassin's hand with his teeth. He hated it, yet he knew he would do it again to keep Merlin safe.

He was brought out of these thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. Looked up, he saw Percival's worried face and a bowl. As the dish was placed in front of him, on the edge of his love's bed, he noted that this was one of the servant bowls from the kitchens, not one of Gaius's and that it was full of thick, but chunk less, soup.

"I didn't think your mouth was up to doing much chewing, so I got you some soup from the kitchen. I got some stewed apples for you, merlin too if she wakes up soon." George couldn't help but glance around the room for the physician, just to be on the safe side.

"He left almost an hour ago. A thatcher fell from a roof just beyond the wall of the training grounds." The man looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't.

Nodding gently so not to make his head worse, to turned to his soup. He stared at the food longingly as he tried to figure out how he was meant to eat it with his hands bandaged as they were. As it was, there was no way he could hold a spoon steady enough to keep from spilling the liquid.

"You could try drinking it like it is a big cup." George jerked his head up at the sound of that breathy female voice.

As his head swam painfully, he felt large hands steady this shoulders, letting him know that he must have swayed in his dizziness. His ears were ringing so badly that the warning bells would have rung beside him and he wouldn't have heard them. After what felt like days, his vision finally cleared, he found himself in the bed with Merlin and that his head was currently in her lap with her fingers gently running through his hair.

Looking up, he saw the worried faces of not just Percival and Merlin, who seemed to have tears in her eyes, but Gaius and the king as well. No sooner did he meet the woman he loved eye's than his own slipped shut against his will. A sharp pain on the back of his hand caused his eyes to briefly flutter open.

When he opened his eyes next he saw their lips moving, but the ringing hum in his ears blocked their words. As his eyes started to fall again, he felt his ear being flicked. He tried and failed to stay awake as the last of the adrenaline faded from his system.

o=(======= .'˳*˳'. =======)=o

He hadn't thought about how George was going to eat the soup he had brought for him and when the poor girl had woken up and gave a suggestion, George had moved too quickly and ended up passing out. He had sent the guard outside the door to find Gaius before going back to deal with the couple. Merlin was hyperventilating and George was cold on the floor in the nest of bedrolls and blankets he had been resting in since his concussion had been realized. Knowing there wasn't much he could do for George right now without Gaius, the big man focused on calming his pseudo-sister. He had only just calmed her down when Arthur and Gaius ran in, panicking Merlin all over again.

He let the king take over dealing with Merlin and told Gaius what had happened. Gaius listened professionally as he checked George over for the third time that day. The knight knew that the servant had a concussion, he had been told when he had been assigned to guard the dying ex-spy, but this was not like any concussion he had ever seen.

"It appeared that his cranium is fractured. The stiffness of his neck likely aggravated the injure when he moved his head. I tried to give him a muscle relaxant for it, but he was afraid I was trying dose him with a sleeping tonic again." There was a note of defeat in the man's quiet tone that set his hairs on edge.

"Is there anything to be done? Surely there is something." Arthur voice was barely over a whisper so that Merlin would not hear what was being said.

"There is a chance that there is no bleeding or leakage from the brain, but only a small one. He is not reacting to light or sound and I fear the use of smelling salts will do more harm than good."

"What can we do?" Percival felt sick at the thought of Merlin losing the man she clearly loved before they could truly be together.

"If he wakes on his own, there is a chance he will pull through. He is a strong lad and he has something to fight for. Hopefully, it will be enough." His old eyes looked over to where the couple lay just out of reach of each other.

"Then we give him more to live for." Percival only had time to blink before he rushed to help his king carefully move the prone man from the floor to on the bed with Merlin.

Merlin nearly cried in relief and begged to be helped into a sitting position. It took several pillows, that seemed to have been mysteriously left at the door, to prop her up and then Gaius meticulously positioned George so that his head was properly supported in his ward's lap. Merlin seemed to have realized just how bad the situation was because she started to cry as she gently carded her long fingers through George's partially matted hair.

Merlin tears had dried by the time George began to stir. None of them wanted to get their hopes up, knowing that this could just as likely be the beginning of a fit as it was for his to be waking up. When his eyes opened, Percival let out a massive breath that he had been unaware he had been withholding.

The joy in the room grew as George's eyes locked on to each of their faces with recognition, but when his eyes landed on Merlin's teary ones, his slid shut. Merlin's breath hitched as she looked to Gaius who wore a slight smile. She lost the panicked look in her eyes, but continued to worriedly pick the tangles from her beau's hair.

After an hour, Gaius told them he was going to try to wake George again. It took a sometime, but a needle to the back of his left hand finally got the man to open his eyes again. It was only for a moment before they drifted shut again. This time, there was no smile, but a worried frown.

It wasn't quite an hour later when George opened his eyes again without any prompting. Gaius explained why this was a good thing as we noticed the confused look on the man's face as he seemed to watch our mouths move. As he started to fall back to sleep, the physician reached out and snapped his fingers loudly beside the servant's ear, but George didn't react. Muttering something, the old man flicked the lad's ear which caused a slight flinch.

This seemed to appease Gaius, as he stopped the action and wondered over to his books. They all sat there, not knowing what to do. Percival managed to talk Merlin into drinking some of the now cold broth meant for George and to eat a bit of the stewed apples that had been kept farm by the fire. Then they waited.

After an hour, Gaius tried to wake the man again. This time, nothing seemed to be working. Gaius even tried the smelling salts, despite the risked he had mentioned before. Nothing seemed to be getting even the slightest reaction from the poor fellow. That was when they saw the blood.

"Gaius!" Merlin was nearly hysteric.

Percival could only watch as the physician tried once again to rouse George. Poor Merlin had been beside herself since this started. He knew she blamed herself just as he felt this was his fault.

George's ear that had been on Merlin's lap had been bleeding and none of them had noticed. Oddly, this seemed to relieve Gaius instead of worry him. Something about relief of pressure and something about smell or hearing. Or at least, that was what Percival thought he had said, but the rate at which he was speaking, there was every chance that he was wrong.

That was when the assassin in the patient cot across the room decided to have a fit. Percival had nearly forgotten that the man wasn't dead. Knowing that Gaius was busy with whatever he was doing with those books and the king was trying to keep his weak maid calm, he decided he had to be the one to make sure the former spy didn't make a mess or break the cot. None of them cared if he died, and Gaius had already said there was nothing more he could do for the cretin.

After a minute or two, the man went slack and started breathing roughly and sounded like he was breathing through a running nose despite the fact the sound was coming from his mouth. Not really wanting to go back and sit helplessly beside Merlin as she ran her hands nonstop through George's hair, he sat on the stool by the foot of the cot. He was still sitting there when Gaius when back over to the man in the bed with his ward and pinched his ear.

Percival was surprised when George gave a whimper and weakly lifted a hand try and bat away the physician's hand. As Merlin cried with happiness, Percival turned to the odd sound beside him. He was half surprised to see the dying man's eyes open and relatively clear despite his high fever and extensive infected injuries.

"What was that?" Percival was now sure that the odd sound had been Cyfruis attempting to talk.

The man tried again, but the knight was unable to make out any of the words. Percival blinked in surprise as Gaius appeared with a cup of water and helped the traitor drink. There words were clearer now, but they didn't make sense to the bear of a man. Gaius seemed to understand and hurried back to his work table.

Turning his attention back to the man in the cot, he saw that he was sweating heavily even though he was dehydrated and seemed to be able to take deeper breaths. Given that Gaius had told them the man was dying, Percival was curious how a single cup of water has caused such a profound change. As he turned to look at what the physician was doing, the knight noticed a change, but could not quite place it.

Turning back to Cyfruis, he saw that the man was no longer appeared to be breathing. Grabbing the spoon from the bowl that had held the man's last meal, Percival wiped it off and held it by the assassin's nose and mouth. When no fog appeared, he felt the man's neck for a pulse. Not feeling one, he placed his hand on the man's still chest just to be sure. There was no movement and no beat from the former spy's heart. He was dead.

Without a word, Percival straightened out the body and removed the wadded blanked that had been keeping the man tilted on his side, allowing the body to lay flat. He uncurled the man's hands and made them lay flat as well as he could with the bandages still in place. Once that was done, he shook out the wadded blanket and hide the body from sight.

Not wanting to sit with the body, the knight moved back to his seat at Merlin's bedside. She was asleep and George was as well, not that Percival had expected him to be awake. Arthur looked frazzled to say the least. The big man could practically hear Merlin commenting on her master's messy hair and rumpled clothing.

"He is dead then?" The king's voice was soft enough not to wake the poor woman.

"Yes, Sire." Percival didn't even feel affected by the fact at all, he was neither relieved by or remorseful at the man's passing.

"Then you are free to go if you wish. Though, I think the guards should remove the body." Arthur sounded exhausted.

"I'll see to it Sire. You should rest. Camelot needs her king to be alert if anything should happen." As the royal returned his attention to the pair in the bed in front of them, Percival realized Arthur had no intention of moving from his spot.

"You can sleep in Merlin's room on her straw tick or you can return to your own chambers and bed and we will let you know of any changes." Percival was glad that Gaius had been the one to force the king to rest.

"I am fine." Percival could just see Merlin rolling her eyes at that comment.

"If you were, I would be highly surprised. It has been trying few months for you since becoming king and just today you have had the woman you love drugged, found out the your replacement servant took down a trained assassin with no weapons and nearly died hours later because of it, had it revealed to you that your uncle was not what you thought, and realized that your maid who you treat like a sister has been injured and saved your life multiple times without your knowledge." Percival thought Gaius had gone a bit too far, but it seemed to get through to him that is was alright for him to need rest.

"Percival, see that the body is properly dealt with and see if my uncle has been found. I'll be in Merlin's room." Without another word, the King of Camelot went to rest in the bed of a servant.

"What did Cyfruis say to you, before he died?" Percival knew this was highly off topic, but he truly wanted to know before he made arrangements for the body.

"He was delirious, but in essence, he gave me the key I needed to help George." Percival gave his elder a questioning look that clearly begged for details.

"His mind was nearly gone with fever, but he seemed to think George was his apprentice. Not wanting someone he trained to die, he told me what the poison was made of and why it was affecting George this way. If he was correct, most of George's symptoms are being exaggerated by the drug." Percival blinked at the idea of the man known as the perfect servant being trained as an assassin.

"Since the drug is meant to be used on victims that are not expecting an attack and who haven't gone days with only a meal or two, so it hit George hard. It mixed with the adrenaline in his system and would have kept him awake for a very long time if his head hadn't been hit quite so hard. When he woke from that, the drug kept him awake until his body could no longer take the strain and the adrenaline passed. It is drug keeping him from waking more than his injury. Also, his body was unable to break down the drug due to having eaten and drank very little over past week." Percival just nodded despite not understanding all of what was said.

"So, he will be alright?" That really was the important part.

"Once I have gotten some food and a few potions in him, he should improve quickly. Only time will tell if his hearing will return." Percival nodded his understanding before leaving to deal with the former spy's body.

Now that he knew what the man had done with his last moments, the knight decided the assassin would be buried outside of the city instead of thrown in the trash pit and covered over like many other traitors had been. The man had shown some pity for what he had done, he had even been honoured to have been taken down by George. That earned him a slightly better place of eternal rest.

o=(======= .'˳*˳'. =======)=o

AN: How about I have Elyan pick Agravaine's fate? George took out Cyfruis for Merlin, but Gwen was a victim of the sleaze bucket's plan and who better than her brother to right that wrong? (Too much?) I am half tempted to have Arthur sentence him to be behead (Due to Leon and Gwaine thinking he is Dragoon) and have Morgana send somebody to release him only for someone to catch him sneaking out and fight him to the death…

Let me know how you, my amazing readers, what this to play out!

Thank you all to reading and not giving up on my stories. It means a lot to me. *Hugs*


	11. AN: 3

Sorry... No new chapter...

My life got even messier since my last Author's Note. I moved in August to a new city and a new university. I was living by myself for the first time ever in an area where vehicles are vandalized nearly every night. In February, my windshield was broken (I may have mentioned this in a quick AN in the last Chapter I posted... I really don't remember). The broken windshield lead to conflict with the neighbors and escalated to harrassment of me and later, my family when they came to visit. My neighbors made my life miserable for the next month which lead to me packing my belongings and subletting a place on the other side of the city. I finally got out of my old lease the week of end of term exams. I have moved back in with my old roommates and will be commuting to the university in the future (I am not dealing with something like that again so soon). And these are just the issues I am willing to share with you, my readers. There is a great deal of other issues, but they are a little harder to talk about openly.

In summation, I haven't written much in months that is not related to one of my classes. I hope to post a new chapter for all of my unfinished stories soon, but I cannot make any promises as I am currently taking a class at my old university and will be working in my future career field later in the summer.

Thank you to those who are still willing to wait through my long breaks between chapters.

~Aaronna


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